On This Day in Texas History: Juneteenth and the True End of Slavery

On June 19, 1865—160 years ago today—Union Major General Gordon Granger stepped ashore on Galveston Island and issued General Order No. 3, declaring:

The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.

Finding Out They're Free

That announcement marked the first time many enslaved Black Texans were formally informed of their freedom—two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had gone into effect on January 1, 1863.

This moment in Galveston would go on to become the foundation of what we now call Juneteenth, a federal holiday officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day. It’s observed each year on June 19 to commemorate the true, final enforcement of the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

Enforcement Took Awhile

While the Emancipation Proclamation declared freedom for slaves in Confederate states, enforcement in places like Texas was slow—deliberately so. Texas had remained a stronghold for slavery throughout the Civil War, and news of the proclamation was withheld from enslaved people even after the war ended.

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It wasn’t until Granger's arrival with Union troops that the order was publicly declared in Texas. But even then, freedom was a process. Some enslavers delayed the news further—others fled with enslaved people to Mexico. For many, freedom had to be fought for again in the months following the announcement.

According to historians and a 2021 Reddit summary from user ATSTlover, the word “Juneteenth” was coined in the 1890s and first printed in the Brenham Weekly Banner, a Texas newspaper. Celebrations waned during the Jim Crow era but resurged in the 1960s. Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday in 1980.

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It's a Federal Holiday

Fast forward to June 17, 2021, and Juneteenth became a federal holiday—a moment long overdue.

So what’s open today? The U.S. Postal Service is closed, and there will be no regular mail delivery. Most major banks—like Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo—are closed. Federal courts and the Federal Reserve are also taking the day off. UPS and FedEx, however, are still operating as usual.

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From the streets of Galveston to communities across the nation, today we remember the pain, the progress, and the promise of Juneteenth.

Let freedom ring!